Drug Bust Yields 120 Pounds of Pot And $18,000 Cash

Drug Bust Yields 120 Pounds of Pot And $18,000 Cash

ST. JOHN PARISH (WGNO) - A drug training course has paid off in a big way in St. John Parish. A deputy who had just completed a drug training academy has helped take a large amount of marijuana off the streets.

WGNO News Reporter Darian Trotter spoke to the deputy who’s making a difference.

Meet Deputy Cody Malkiewicz and his K-9 companion Odeke.

The two are being recognized for making a very sizable drug bust in Laplace.

“There’s a lot of buzz around it,” Malkiewicz bashfully admitted.

It all happened less than 24 hours after Malkiewicz completed a course on how to catch drug smugglers.

He was patrolling Interstate 10 early Saturday morning, when he happened upon a driver, deputies with the St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office had been looking for.

He followed, just as he was trained to do.

“The subject driving the car became nervous, began swerving from one lane to the dash line.”

That’s when Malkiewicz made the traffic stop.

“Got him out of the car and at that time I smelled marijuana,” Malkiewicz said.

Odeke moved in and sniffed out a whole lot more.

Officers obtained a search warrant and discovered 120 pounds of weed and $18,000 in cash.

Sheriff Mike Tregre says 60-percent of the money will eventually be funneled back into the narcotics division, and potentially fund more training courses.

“I’m even more inclined now to train more of my officers and I’m going to do that,” Tregre said.

The driver, 33-year old Adam Landry of Slidell, was arrested on multiple drug charges.

Deputy Malkiewicz is proud to have put his 4-days of training to use.

“Feel good about it. Feel real good about it, being a police officer you don’t get recognition that much and when you get something like this it make you feel like you’re doing really good for the community and that’s all I want to do is help out the community and get those drugs off the street,” Malkiewicz said. “This is not my first time, and it won’t be my last.”

Sheriff Tregre plans to have an even greater presence on the interstate; to reduce the amount of drugs being funneled into the parish.